Woes of an old Maid!
by lthawkeyes
Summary: Misaki is a 27 year old, independent, single woman and NOT searching for a prince charming. But fate has other plans laid out for her. Read, Review and Suggest! :)
1. Chapter 1

Hellow! This is my 4th Maid-sama fanfic! And umm, i really cannot think of anything else to say. Just read on.

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to this awesome anime. Only the plot is mine.**

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Chapter 1:

'Misaki! Enough is enough! You are 27 years old and not getting any younger.'

I signed. Mothers, I say! I swore they have a Mother's Secret Society (MSS), where they got together every-month (or was it every week?) and discuss in-depth about their kid's love life, as if they had nothing better to do with their time. They could discuss about world peace, poverty, global warming, the decreasing number of wild animals, and the alarming fact that only 14 blue whales were left in this world. So many topics to discuss from and actually do something to help, but no, it had to revolve around their kid's love life if they have nothing to complain about their own life, which brings me back to where I am stuck right now.

'It has been a long time since you went on a date. And you didn't even contact Shintani like I asked you to.' She accused me sharply.

I rolled my eyes and thanked the stars that we are not having this conversation face to face or else my mother, being the dictator, would have probably boxed my ears right then and there until I submit to her authority. That's my mother for you! Still I am 27! I am strong, independent woman who fears no-one, well except my mother. I had to take a stance and at least try to stand up against my mother!

I cleared my throat and steeled my determination.

'Mom!' I started, balling my fist to make sure I was able to convey all that is on my mind, 'Why do I have to call Shintani? If he wants to talk to me, then he can call me himself. And as for not going on a date for a long time, it is because I am busy. With my work load, I hardly have time to do anything else.'

'Misaki Ayuzawa! Don't try that work tone on me!' my mother threatened. I swear my knees did not shake when she said this. I am already in my late twenties and still my mom had this way to make me pee in my pants, well not literally, but I hope you get what I meant.

She continued in that crispy, sharp tone, 'My friends' daughters are almost all married, pregnant, already had their first kid or at least engaged to be married. And you? You reject or scare every man who gathers enough courage to approach you!'

I knew these lines by heart and closed my eyes, mentally picturing the 14 surviving blue whales and wondered if their dating lives involve their mother dictating which whale to go for depending upon their power of splashing water through their snout-the higher or more wide-spread the better or the size of their tail-fin? Or how far they could bend their body? My mind drew a picture of male whales diving from a diving board and the whale-mom's sitting by the pool with their half-moon spectacles perched on their nose, nodding venerably at their performance and giving them scores out of ten like they do in the Olympics.

'Misaki? Are you listening to me?' she checked. My mom sure is sharp!

My mouth automatically replied, 'Yes mom! Obviously! I heard everything.' Smooth Misaki! I mentally patted myself on the head for coming up with a reply almost immediately.

'And you agree, right?' she pressed. Now I didn't know what she was talking about. I had not heard anything, duh! But if I asked her to repeat, she would reach out from the mouth-piece and strangle me, I swear. Knowing my mother, I didn't think it is impossible, technology or no technology.

'Yes, mom.' I replied submissively, mentally praying that it was not some marriage contract my mom thought of binding me in.

'Good. So be ready on Friday night at 7 sharp. Shintani will pick you up for dinner. And be charming.' And with that my mom hung up without even waiting for my reply. I stared flabbergasted at my phone-screen. She set me up for a date! A DATE! I groaned and mentally kicked myself for falling in my mother's date trap! I should have known better than drift off thinking about blue whales. And she said Friday, right? It was two days away. I signed again. Thankfully, it was not a blind date. I have known Shintani Hinata since kindergarten days till middle-school. We went to different high-schools and our path had not met since then and we lost contact a long while back. I could hardly imagine what he would look like these days. Back at middle-school he used to be chubby, always munching something and anything he could lay his hands upon. My hyper-active imagination quickly drew a taller version of the middle-school Shintani with a bulging belly holding a beer and winking at me. I frowned on how my mother agreed to set up a date with him. Ah! We will see this Friday anyhow.

With that thought, I jumped up from my bed and walked towards the kitchen. It's 7-15 in the morning! Yes, my lovely mother loves to wake me up with breaking news about eligible men, dates and marriages. Let me assure you that it works better than a monotonous alarm clock as it ensures complete loss of even a speck of lingering drowsiness and it never comes with a snooze button.

I looked around pondering on what to eat when my eyes settled on my ever-reliable stock of maggi noodles. Well, I am no pro when it comes to cooking, hell, I am forbidden to enter the kitchen at home since the last accident revolve around me burning the steak and almost setting the kitchen on fire. Anyway, thanks to induction cooker, it is nearly impossible to set fire to stuff and I have mastered cooking the 2-minute maggi noodles and boiling water for cup-noodles, instant soup and various other instant foods to get me by in this independent rebellious single life of mine.

I quickly 'cooked' maggi and turned on the tv and switched it to a news channel. Well, that's my work and life. I am a scholar in a newspaper company called 'Tokyo Times', TT in short. My work is multi-dimensional, it involves reviewing and editing the articles wrote by reporters to make sure the tone is neutral before sending it to be printed, determining which story to investigate in depth or to lay off and occasionally interview people on sensitive cases. They don't call me the diplomat for nothing. I can wiggle out any secret with a charming smile but alas, it does not work on my mother. Though my job sounds simple and straightforward enough, it is a highly meticulous job and I absolutely love it. It is satisfying; I thrive in the ever-changing nature of it. If work was a man, my mother would have been a very happy woman.

There doesn't seem to be any breaking news as of now, only Gerard Walker, the CEO of the famous MNC Walker Inc was sighted walking out of a hospital 3rd time this month. I rolled my eyes. How did it make it to the breaking news? Channels these days, they would turn anything into breaking news just to pique up their viewership. What is wrong with the CEO walking out of a hospital? He could have gone there to visit a relative or to donate some money or went there for an innocent blood-test. There are so many things which require walking in to a hospital. Just because he is the CEO, he can't walk in to a hospital? He is a human not an alien! Was he supposed to be confined in his office making phone-calls sitting on a high back chair with a cigar on one hand, or plot his next conquest in a room with a miniature model of the world and small plastic building placed on it to show their already conquered places or swim in a pit of money like Uncle Scrooge? The last image was definitely hilarious. I can flawlessly imagine Gerard Walker wearing a black and white stripped one-piece swimsuit and diving from a diving board on the sea of coins. He is pretty striking, I must say. His blue eyes, jet black hair and an easy smile make him an instant hit amongst paparazzi and ladies.

I scrapped and literally licked my bowl clean to make sure not a single noodle strand is left un-devoured. I washed my bowl and checked my phone for any messages. And unfortunately, I found 4. Three was work-related from a noob reporter who writes 10 lines and makes me proofread it and the last one was from Sakura. She is one of my high-school bestie. Other one is Shizuko. Anyway, Sakura texted to let me know that we would be meeting for ice-cream in the evening in this café she visited with her boyfriend recently, like I have nothing better to do with my time. But Sakura is forceful too; she threatened that she would turn up at my office and burn all the files if I don't come on time, so there you have it. We gather together once a fortnight to exchange gossip which means I end up listening to their stories most of the time as I hardly have anything exciting to say except my mother's latest ratings about the eligible guy in town.

I showered and chose a formal grey suit with a white shirt underneath and a one-inch heel. I like keeping my feet as close to the ground as possible in case I face a klutz moment, and I daresay, I have many. I tied my hair up in a ponytail and applied a light pink lipstick. I scrutinized myself in the mirror at different angles and then picked up my handbag and started off for my workplace.

My workplace is around 15mins walking distance from my apartment in one of the busiest street of Tokyo. The shear energy of a footpath full of people walking in formal attire towards their workplace makes me so happy. Now, don't tag me as a work-o-phile or workaholic. I just like the sharp click-clack noise of their squeaky clean shoes, almost in unison, and their work-face or in other words lost-in-work-thought face up, it looks so funny. I must sound paranoid now, no?

I was walking towards my office, enjoying the sound of shoes on the concrete footpath when my eyes fell on a little boy in an orange t-shirt running towards the road. I particularly spotted him because of that orange colour, it stood out sharply in contrast to the muted dark tones of the office formal attire. I watched in slow motion as the boy ran towards the road after a small yo-yo which had apparently fallen of his little hands completely oblivious of the speeding cars on the road. Before I could think coherently, my body instinctively ran towards the boy, put my arms around him and threw myself off the road towards the footpath just a nanosecond before a car sped by us. Phew! In no time, I was surrounded by people helping me to stand up and cleaning the dust of my grey suit. The boy's mother hugged me with tears in her eyes and thanked me incessantly for saving her son's life. I mentally thanked her for making him wear such a bright t-shirt otherwise it would have been hard to notice and frankly I couldn't let myself stand and stare if I see some oncoming danger. I didn't train in aikido for nothing, you know. I knelt down to pat the boy's head and told him never to do that again and in return the boy kissed me on the cheek. That amounted my total kiss of this quarter year to 3. I got one from my dad, mom and now this boy. That's all the romance I had in the last 3 months. I know, my love-life is pathetic.

As I ruffled the little guy's hair in return for the kiss, an unknown pair of strong hands grabbed my arms tightly. I winced as sudden pain shot through my being.

'You are injured.' Declared a deep, velvety voice. I looked at the speaker and for a moment I was mesmerized by the dazzling view. The words belonged to a tall guy with emerald green eyes and spiked blonde hair. Adonis! That's the word sprung to my mind. Greek god indeed. His simple white shirt and dark trousers outlined his perfectly slim body and you could almost feel the 6-pacs hiding beneath the shirt.

'Finished checking me out?' asked the blonde Adonis, a little impatiently. I coloured up at that remark. What happened to my feminine pride, now? A man has grabbed my arm and that calls for divine punishment. I quickly recollected myself and the situation and retorted, 'Let go of me, pervert! Who gave you the authority to touch me?'

'You are injured.' He repeated, still not letting go of my arms. Is he a lecher? Or molester?

'It's nothing, I have endured worse.' I replied, trying to wriggle my arms out of his strong grip. Hot or not! He is no good news.

At my retort, he squeezed my arms again and I almost screamed at the pain shooting through my arms.

'Why you, brat!' I fumed balling my fist to give him a taste of my anger.

'See what I mean?' he remarked with a smirk, apparently unaffected by my charming anger and gripped one of my hands and dragged me in his direction which was opposite to my workplace.

'Hey! Mister! Where the hell are you taking me? I will shout for the police.' I hissed trying to keep up with his fast pace.

'I am taking you to the hospital to get it dressed.' He replied, not glancing in my direction and added, 'I saw the whole scene and though what you did was indeed brave, but it was absolutely reckless. One wrong move and both of you could have died.'

'I know that, mister. But it didn't happen right?' I asked as I struggled to free my wrist from his iron-grip and only winced in the process. Why is he being so mean and at the same time kind? He is just a random stranger. Do selfless kind people and not to mention this handsome still exist on earth? Scratch that kind. He is not kind at all or he wouldn't have squeezed my arm so hard. He could be a masochist, maybe.

'Mister, where-' I started to enquire the location of the hospital when we found ourselves in front of the Patricia-memorial Hospital. It's the largest hospital in Tokyo. Before I could say anything, he shoved me through the emergency door and made me sit on a crash-cart and started to open the buttons of my suit. Though he did not graze any of my- ummm feminine parts, I could not help blushing like a tomato at this gesture.

'He-hey! What do you think you are doing? I am a woman!' I protested but he silenced me with a stern look. I don't know how a man I have just met have this much power to drag me to a hospital and try to unbutton my suit, where the hell is my feminine pride when I need it? And why am I being so submissive, all of a sudden? I should not succumb to his malediction. Just when I was gathering courage to come up with a sassy retort, an attractive nurse breezed in with a white coat in her hands and said, 'Dr. Usui, here is your coat. I will be at your service today. Dr. Igirashi wants a word with you. What do we have here?' I swear she re-did her lipstick just to come and talk to him and she also seemed to be wearing mascara.

'Thank you, Miss Chiyo' Replied the blonde, oblivious of the measures taken by the nurse,' This lady here'- 'Misaki Ayuzawa' I supplied my name-'She is injured. Left arm, bicep, elbow and get an xray of both arms and chest. Stat. I will be back in a minute.' With that he left me in the hands of the nurse. She greeted me with a practiced smile and helped me remove my suit and then gave me their hospital gown to change into to remove my full-sleeved shirt underneath. I did as told because my arms were really starting to pain. And lo and behold, my left arm had turned black and blue in the places it took the most hit. As I was brought back from the x-ray room, I saw the so-called Dr. Usui waiting by my assigned bed. He immediately made me sit on the bed and examined my bruised arm and without warning started rubbing it between his hands.

'Ouch! That hurts, doctor!' I exclaimed in pain as my hand involuntarily tried to jerk out of his painful grip. I rather have my mother box my ears than this, or rather not.

'It will subside in a minute.' Assured the Adonis.

'If you hadn't brought me here, it would have healed itself.' I retorted through the pain, glaring daggers at him.

'Humor me.' Lazily replied the blonde, going about my arm as if he was just making dough.

And just like he said, my pain was lessening as the bruises turned into a pale pink colour from their previous blackened form. I looked at my doctor curiously. Come to think of it, his face looks familiar. I have seen it before somewhere but I just could not put a finger on it and natural blondes are a rare sight in Japan. I would have remembered if I had met him before. But, I cannot recall, still this familiarity. I let my inner reported take over as I analysed the situation. He was a doctor. And the way nurses and the patients alike checked him out, well he was obviously hot. Super hot, in fact. What else? And his last name is Usui. I studied his facial features, it was perfectly symmetrical with his nose in the dead center and absolutely flawless skin. How can a man be gifted with so much perfection. Why doesn't people like this approach me in the dating site instead of creepy men (yes, I have one, curtsey Sakura. Although I said I don't need it, I check it out occasionally out of curiosity. Market survey, you know.), I would have dated him. But then, judging by the random people checking him out, he probably doesn't need to enroll in a dating site. I bet the nurses do a lottery amongst themselves and the winner gets to flirt with him for the day. Wow! I am so perceptive.

'Done checking me out, Miss?', asked the blonde again. Shit! He must have caught me studying him. I need to cover my ass. Think of a good excuse, Misaki.

'I am an anthropology student. I was not checking you out. I was studying you.' I replied and mentally face-palmed myself. Student? I am 27!

'Oh. The study of human behavior, eh? What did you gather from studying me?' he asked with a smirk as he kept on massaging my arms. Now what is there to smirk about? But what now? I cannot say that I was thinking about his dating life. It would make me sound desperate. And believe me, I am NOT desperate. He is just insanely hot and I was just wondering casually. Did I say he was insanely hot? Shit! Shit! I could feel myself blushing. I have to think of something ugly to make this blush go away.

Usui sniggered. I whipped my head towards him and stared flabbergasted. Before I could say anything, he threw his head back and laughed out loud. This guy was laughing at my expense. I could feel myself grow hot with embarrassment but at the same time, I could not be annoyed. His laugh sounded so pure and contagious that even the other patients and nurses stopped mid-work to look in his direction and smile.

'What are you laughing at?' I demanded, looking for any scraps to retain my dignity.

'Seriously, I never saw any human go through so many facial changes in less than a minute. Anthropologists should study you.' he answered as he tried to suppress another laughter building in his stomach.

'Hmph!' I snatched my arms away from his grip and gentle massaged it by myself.

'The pain had subsided. Thank you very much.' I replied acidly. I don't want to make a bigger fool of myself and started looking for my office attire.

The insufferable Adonis nodded and promptly retrieved my office suit. 'Do you need help to change into these?' He asked with a smirk.

One second.

Two seconds.

3 seconds passed while I stared at him trying to process his sentence and I could feel my blush betray my thoughts.

'YOU PERVERT! Get out!' I screamed and promptly pushed him off the curtain boundary and pulled it to get some privacy. Laughing at my expense! How dare he! I take back all the good stuff I said about him. Handsome or not, he is a jerk and a pervert using his good looks to lure women to him. I gingerly changed into my office attire and pulled back the curtain to notice Miss Chiyo glaring at me. I almost expected that, I insulted their Mr McDreamy, didn't I?

'Here are your reports and prescription. Dr. Usui told you to apply these ointments for a week to make sure the bruises subside completely.' She informed acidly, and almost shoved my medical file on my stomach.

'Er..thanks Miss Chiyo. And the bill?' I enquired flipping through the report. There was no bill.

'This is a free treatment ward, Miss Ayuzawa. You are free to go and in the future it would be unwise to scream in a hospital.' She informed and immediately turned to attend another patient.

I looked around uncertain of what to do, a little embarrassed with my misconduct and well, I was free to go. I made my way towards the door when I heard-

'Miss Ayuzawa, take care of your arm.' It was Dr. Usui.

'T-thank you. I will.' I replied timidly. Well whatever the case maybe, however he made fun of me, he treated me nonetheless. If he had not massaged me, I know I would have winced in pain the whole day. I was grateful.

'Good girl' and he patted my head. My eyes widened in surprise. He patted my head? Patted? Actually patted? Like you pat a little girl or your pet dog? Before I could say anything, I saw Miss Chiyo glaring at me from a distance. This was a hospital and I could not shout or bash his arrogant face. 'I am not your little girl.' I hissed before turning to exit the building.

I could hear Usui burst into laughter much to my chagrin while I restrained with every cell of my being to pound him to a pulp. Too much insult for my ego. He was saved because I was in his debt.

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I am experimenting with different writing styles. So, what are you waiting for? **REVIEW **and tell me what you think of it and on ways to improve it. In return, I will update fast. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own them. :(

Happy reading!

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Chapter 2:

'Oh Misaki! I am so happy for you.' And next nanosecond I found myself engulfed in a body-crushing hug curtsy my ever-overexcited friend, Sakura! Seriously, how could she remain excited all the time, every time? She must be on pills! But, considering I had known her since high school and she had always been like this, well, her body must synthesize that Prozac-type hormone naturally. Why didn't I become a doctor or a bio-engineer? This would have easily fetched me a Noble prize, tops. Back to the present, I was having difficulty breathing.

'Too t-tight S-sakura.' I gasped, flailing my arms wildly. She had almost crushed my windpipe with her overflowing affection. For such a petite fragile form, her grip sure was strong. I wonder how her 'fiance', Kuuga fares with this violent Sakura. And before my windpipe almost gave up hope, she let me go.

I massaged my throat, blatantly annoyed by that near-death experience. I was supposed to be the violent one, they didn't call me Demon President for nothing at my old high-school but obviously, Sakura didn't show her true form then. 'What was that for, Sakura?' I grumbled.

Sakura balled her fist in excitement and squealed, 'You met a hot doctor, Misaki! And in such a romantic way! I can almost hear your wedding vows.' WEDDING? VOWS? Whoaaa!

'DON'T JUST JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS!' I retorted vehemently, waving my arms around as if to repeal what she had just said! I don't want those words or thoughts to infect me! What's with Sakura? They say we, women jumps to conclusion in the blink of an eye, but this? From single to marriage, straightaway? Not to mention she tagged it as romantic. I cringed a little. It was like suddenly jumping from Earth and landing on Neptune! Impossible feat! I composed my thoughts, things were not going as I intended. I really regretted sharing today's morning story and I think I should clear their misunderstandings once and for all.

'I met a man who was a doctor and treated me as the situation demanded. Sadly, he was hot. End of story! I don't think we are ever going to meet again or have a circumstance where we would cross path. There was nothing in common.' I replied not concealing the apparent annoyance creeping in my voice and added, 'These are just random incidents and they never mean anything. And by the way, he turned out to be a pervert. So-' I brandished the long stemmed spoon I was holding and pointed it towards Sakura to emphasize my point, 'not my type.' I finished with style. See? They don't call me the diplomat for nothing, but yes, these two were almost immune to my diplomatic charms as mom but I almost disarm them with it once in a while if my gentleman-luck favors me!

Sakura looked as if I had just announced the date of the apocalypse and repeated, 'Sadly he _was hot?_' geez, she had always been so expressive which reminded me to ask her to join the theater. And after all the things I said about random meetings she only caught the hot part? And how on earth she thought the meeting was romantic? It was quite the opposite, I reassure you. She turned her chestnut hair with pleading eyes at Shizuko, who was silent for the entire duration observing us while sipping our ice-cream daintily, 'Shizuko! Say something!' she urged.

In response, Shizuko straightened her glasses perched on her nose and looked at me sharply. I swear she practiced these dramatic glass-straightening pose just for special revelation moments, you know, to bring more gravity to the situation. What a dramatic couple of friends I have!

'I think you may be wrong about him, Misaki!' And I felt being hit by a thunder! Shizukooo! Not you too! She was supposed to be on my side. Now the apocalypse had really arrived. Oblivious to my shocked expression, she continued, 'You claim him to be a pervert but he never said that he _personally_ will help _you_ change. He asked if you needed assistance because of your affected arm and you thought he was offering himself and called him a pervert.'

My eyes widened. WHAT? She listened-no-scrutinized my words THAT closely? Shizuko always surprised me. I remember that one time in our high school excursion, where she fell in love with a guy Suzuki who also wore glasses and when that poor guy broke his glasses and removed them, she couldn't recognize him anymore and that was the end of their brief love story. But last year, they met again and started dating but Shizuko claim that she did not even remember that excursion incident. See, I never know what to expect from her.

'I did _not _accuse him wrongly! And not only for that incident' I found myself clarifying, 'he was smirking the whole time, laughed at my expense and grabbed my arm without permission! He is a pervert with good looks!' I declared taking a spoonful from our shared sundae. Yes, we were sharing one sundae. Not because we had a money crunch, not yet, but we just didn't feel like eating a whole sundae by ourselves. Rather Sakura wanted to cut down on her calorie intake because her wedding was scheduled for next month and Shizuko said that she would share with her. And I, being their best friend, did not want to like a pig hogging a whole sundae by myself, I complied and tada! Like ring-a-ring-o roses, we are shifting the sundae in an anticlockwise direction each taking one spoonful and passing it on.

I could feel Sakura's eyes drilling a hole in my brain as if she wanted to say something, which I ignored as I dumped the sundae in my mouth. Oh GOD! I closed my eyes to feel the rich crème flavors exploding in my mouth; this is what pure happiness must taste like. This sundae was beyond delicious; it felt like droplets of heaven in my mouth. The pâtissier sure was top-class. Why can't I meet a man with skills like that? The one, who could make such exquisite stuff and would gladly make them just for me and propose marriage with a super-heavenly dessert, And I would instantly say yes. The way to my heart was also through my stomach. And before I could dig up another spoonful of heaven, it was snatched away from me by none other than Sakura! Now, she was being mean! She knew taking away my food was the only way to get my complete undivided attention. I glared at her. That was really unfair.

'Misaki! Be serious! You are 27! And you barely go out on dates, and your last relationship was six years ago. You need to go out mix more with other people and sometimes be bold enough to ask them out or else you would never get to know somebody well. And I don't want to see you alone on my wedding day.' She declared, her eyes flashing as if she was about to break down into tears. Whatever Sakura was, she was truly caring. And sometimes, I felt as if I should find a guy for their sake than mine. Shizuko nodded in agreement with her and signaled me to say something comforting. We both could not handle a crying Sakura and Kuuga would be after our blood if that happens.

I could understand that as both were in a steady relationship; they want me to get into one too, but digging for romance in every incident? No, thank you. Why couldn't they understand that I am just happy being single. I like living a simple life. Not that I am planning to be a monk but I live by the rule that if something had to happen which means liking someone or even 'falling' in love, it would happen automatically, one doesn't need to go out on dates and force themselves to find the good traits and make a pros and cons list before saying yes to a second date. It is nothing but a waste of time and food as you cannot eat to your heart's content when you are out on a date! You have to eat in small measured bites, and give fake smile and fake laugh at their really bad PJ's and after that the guys waiting expectantly waiting for getting a call for a second date, you know the drill. I find all these stupid norms very uncomfortable and frustrating. And more than that, I never thought I was 'missing' someone in my life. I am self-sufficient by myself, thank you very much except the cooking skills, but I get by. I have my sister, mom, dad and these two besties to support me, not to forget Aoi. Along with that, I have a satisfying job where the company respects my work and worth and I am earning well enough to help my family and put Suzuna, my sis, through a really reputed law college. And I also cherish my solitude moments, when I can laze around my house with a good book with some mood music or catching up on a tv series and not being bothered about dressing up cutely to go out with your boyfriend and all. I haven't grown tired of my present life, yet. Sure, there is so much more you can do when you have someone special but I have not reached that phase yet where I would pine to be with a particular one. That's the reason I don't go on dates, it will be a waste of time for that guy too as I have nothing to offer and simultaneously emotionally draining. Is it too hard to understand? Am I being really complex? And 27 is just a number right? If I find someone special, would he care for my age? I don't want to date young men but I want someone mature enough to know all sides of me and still accept me as I am and I don't think dating was the key to it. It comes with too much expectation. This reminded me of my mom's phone call in the morning.

'Hey Sakura!' I started, minding my voice to be as light and cheery as possible, 'My mom set me up for a date with a childhood friend of mine on Friday and if all goes well I would have a date for your wedding day.' I gave her my best smile, though I could feel my insides squirming with what I am getting myself into just for her sake. Sakura's expression changed from nearing tears to happiness in a matter of seconds and again engulfed me into another bone-crushing hug. 'Oh Misaki! You should have said it sooner! I am so happy that you have said yes to a date.'

'Well you know how persistent my mother could be.' I mumbled as she let me go.

'I would drop by on Friday to make sure you dress perfectly for your date.' Sakura offered with bright eyes, I bet, already imagining me in different frilly outfits. I nodded, anything to get her off my back with this single mania.

'Now that all things are settled now, can we wrap this up?' asked Shizuko nonchalantly, as she finished the last spoonful of that heavenly sundae. Now, it was my turn to cry. I only had two spoonfuls of that and while Sakura and I was-you know-doing the drama-she ate it all up. Shizuko sure was sly. I signed and nodded, realizing it was my fault only, being so preoccupied with this whole dating stuff. We paid and started to leave when I thought about complimenting the pâtissier (dessert chef). The person deserved it a cent percent and I know how good it feels to be appreciated from the people you serve. I had never tasted anything so remotely delicious to it, though it was sad I couldn't have more for the time being. I told my friends to go on without me as I had something to do and as my house was nearby only (one block from here), they didn't complain much.

After I saw them off, I turned and re-entered the café and asked the woman-manager (another reason to like this place more) for yes-as I had mentioned before-for the pâtissier! Surprisingly, she giggled like a little girl at that. But under my non-giggling, poker face stare, she quickly recovered and politely told me to wait for a few minutes as they were almost near closing time and the chef would be free from his shift in a few minutes. I smiled and agreed to wait by the window overlooking the street as I ordered a coffee to accompany me.

I liked this café. The cosy, homely ambience, the soft lighting livening up the whole place, the modest price of food and not to mention the dessert, it was a wonder why I hadn't discovered it before. I was a total sucker for good eatery. That brought my thoughts back to where I am now, waiting to compliment an unknown man. I tried to imagine how the pâtissier would look like. From TLC (travel and living channel), I imagined that the chef must be a fat, of French or else European origin (it's the dessert hub after all) with a quirky temper but would have kind eyes and a big jovial laugh. A person, who could make stuff like that, had to have a very good soul too. I, personally, think cooking was one of the most honest ways of baring your nature to other people. That was why all the best cooks are jolly fellows like my dad who is also a professional chef by-the-way. And that was precisely why I wanted to meet this chef. People like these should be appreciated. It was nothing less than art. Though I am not a master at it, I will always compliment one who is.

As I emptied my cup and turned to look at my watch when my spider-senses felt someone halt by my table and anticipating that someone to be the chef I had been waiting for, I looked up and froze as my eyes met with an emerald gaze. I didn't know how long we were locked into this staring match and by the time I took notice of my surroundings, I found myself standing.

'Yo! We meet again!' greeted the stranger who also helped me with my bruises in the morning.

I stared speechlessly at his blonde hair, the perfectly symmetrical handsome face, the slender arms and the well-fitting clothes as if to ensure this person was the one who grabbed my arm and took me to that hospital, the one Sakura thought could be my would-be husband. I narrowed my eyes. This was just too good to be a co-incidence. He was a doctor, right? So he couldn't be a chef!

'Are you stalking me?' I demanded. Hot or not, I would beat this guy to a pulp if he dared to act like a pervert. Was he eavesdropping too? Why hadn't I noticed if he was lurking in the restaurant? His blonde head was bound to stand out among the usual mass of brunettes and ravens. Did he wear a wig as a disguise? Don't tell me he was an alien and could disguise himself like a chameleon!

'I thought you asked for me.' The supposedly-stalker replied, ruffling his hair, amusement dancing in his eyes. I felt as if he was mocking me again.

'I didn't ask for you! I asked for the pâtissier. The one who made the sundae on today's specials.' I stated pointing at the special's board to emphasize my point.

'Ahh', he started as he followed my finger, his ears turned red as he replied, 'That's made by me.'

'WHAT?' I blurted out, 'you are THE pâtissier?'

He nodded as he took up my empty cup and placed it on the kitchen counter to be cleaned up. The other staff members were also busy cleaning up the café as they prepared to close for the day.

'Can you please wait outside for a moment as I help them clean up? I won't be long.' He requested politely as another staff-member motioned him to come to the staff-room. I nodded, too speechless to trust myself to say anything after the big revelation.

As I stepped outside, I set my reporter-senses take over to ponder about this new discovery; does he have a twin brother who is a doctor? And this twin is the chef? They are wearing identical clothes, well, twins often wear identical clothes to confuse people. If not, then how can a doctor be such a good chef and do both professionally? He has to be an alien to be so. NO! He must have a twin. But he greeted me as if we had already met before, but how can it be possible, I met him as a doctor in the morning. He must have told his twin all about me and this twin is also making fun of me as the other twin? Now which twin was I talking about? This is so confusing! And this twin seemed more polite and well-behaved than his other twin in the morning. Such a perfect pair of twins nonetheless. What would Sakura say if she saw these handsome sets of twins? Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type. No! The pervert and the gentleman! Even better-Beauty and the beast! I giggled. If my job had been to name movies-to-be-made, I would have been a millionaire with this colourful mind of mine. I giggled again.

I froze mid-giggle as I heard, 'I see you never get bored by yourself.' from the familiar velvety voice. He came back just in time to see me making an utter fool of myself again. He must have thought I was mad to giggle all by myself in the middle of the pavement for no apparent reason. But how could he know? That was his twin, no?

'You!' I stated, pointing my fingers accusingly at him.

'Me.' He replied, smiling slightly as he tucked his hands in his pocket.

'Where is your evil twin?'

I could tell by his widened eyes that he was taken aback by my accusation or should-I-say correct deduction before he burst out laughing. To add more insult, he laughed and laughed till tears rolled down his eyes. I huffed and started to walk towards my apartment in hopes of putting enough distance between him and me. I feel like a fool now. And how many times did I make a fool of myself in front of him today? I could not even begin to count!

Before I could let my thoughts wonder, I sensed him running towards me until he stopped right in front of me. 'I don't think we have properly introduced ourselves before.' He stated, wisely keeping any hint of mockery or amusement out of his voice as he took in my slightly embarrassed flushed face under the street-light

'Why should I? You will also laugh at it too!' I replied, looking anywhere but at him.

'Do you have a laughable name?' He asked amusedly. He was mocking me again. The nerve of this guy!

I huffed again and started walking, not trusting myself to speak as it could lead to making an utter fool of myself _again_.

'Okay okay! I swear I won't laugh.' He said joining both of his palms as peace offering. I stopped and stared at him with narrowed eyes trying to spot the deceptive bone within him.

'As you don't seem to be in the mood to go first, I guess I will. My name is Usui Takumi. I work as a neurosurgeon in the hospital I took you in the morning and as a pâtissier in this restaurant if I get some free time.' He stated as he bowed slightly as our tradition demands and looked into my eyes as he added, 'And I don't have any evil twin, I was the only one in the womb.'

I could tell he was trying his hardest to keep a straight face but that last remark was too much for me. I snorted at his mocking glance as I looked away and just stated, 'Ayuzawa Misaki' before resuming my walk. The nerve of him to mock me again! I don't know how much my feminine pride can endure it. He must be an alien to hold these two jobs. Maybe he is a lousy neurosurgeon

'Hey! That was rude Miss Ayuzawa. I was being nice.' He said as he started to walk beside me.

'And was your mocking me also part of being nice, Mr. Usui?' I retorted forcing my eyes to not drift off from the road ahead. I don't want to make another spectacle of myself by tripping on the road in front of him.

'I was not mocking. When you said evil twin it was just so funny. I couldn't help myself. I didn't mean to mock or insult you.' He said and stopped in front of me to prevent me to walk further.

I looked at his mesmerizing emerald eyes; I could stare at it forever as it seemed to speak on its own, without any need for words. Then, my grey cells gently nudged me not to make a fool of myself again by staring and I bowed before stating, 'My name is Ayuzawa Misaki. I work as an editor for Tokyo Times.'

'Oh really?' he replied gently massaging the area under his chin as he frowned to remember something.

'What?' I asked, does he doubt my occupation, now?

'Didn't you say you were an anthropology student?' he stated, his eyes on mine waiting for my reaction. Oh holy mother of all misfortune! I totally forgot my embarrassed cover story. And how the hell did he remember that scrap of information? I felt my face getting hot with embarrassment under his amused gaze. And my spider-senses told me that he knew it was a lie. I had never felt so embarrassed on being caught like this, I stared anywhere but at him as I mentally willed the ground to open up and swallow me off from the face of this earth. I had to cover it up with another lie. No, I had to make it a half-lie to make sure I don't forget it if I ever meet him again. What did I do to deserve this? Is this a punishment for being single for so long? If I had had a boyfriend or fiancé with me by now, he surely would have accompanied me at this time of night and would have saved me from any encounter as this. Hmmm, that is an interesting pro of having a special someone.

'Earth to Misaki! I repeat, Earth to Misaki!'

I snapped back to my present situation. The Adonis was standing inappropriately close to me peering into my eyes with those tantalizing eyes of his.

'That's a hobby of mine.' I blurted as I pushed him back with my arms and started walking and almost reached my building.

'How is your left arm now?' He called out not moving from his position.

'Doesn't hurt much anymore.' I replied without turning back, secretly wondering why he wasn't following me anymore. Did my little push hurt his ego? I didn't push him that hard to hurt him.

He added, 'And thanks for complimenting on my dessert Ayuzawa.'

My eyes widened. The dessert! I totally forgot about it when I discovered it was him. Well you could hardly blame me considering our morning history and the stuff that followed after it. I turned around to look at him standing at a distance and I could not help but smile.

'It was delicious.' I replied, 'I must go now. This is my stop. Good night.' And with that I climbed up the stairs leading to my building and disappeared behind the main door.

'I hope we meet again.' He called out as he walked towards my building, his expression unreadable from the distance.

I let myself in my apartment and collapsed on my couch. Although my work-load was lighter than usual, two Usui and a Sakura encounter had taken a toll on my stamina. I got up and removed my suit and shirt to examine my left arm in the mirror. It had almost returned to its normal skin tone although it looks darkened at certain places. I reluctantly freshened up and applied the ointment Usui had given on my arm and laid down on the bed recapitulating today's event. What were the odds to meet a stranger twice on the same day? I don't believe in fate, just an embarrassing coincidence. Damn him for being the dessert chef. I could not go back and eat it knowing he would know and would again have to face another embarrassing episode. I wondered how my mom would react if she hears about this? And before I could think of anything anymore, fatigue broke in to drift me off to a deep slumber.

* * *

It took me quite a while to figure out how to present the contents of the chapter. My apologies for the late update.

Should I decrease the amount of Misaki's muse? She sure does think a lot. XD Do you feel bored just reading about Misaki's thoughts or would you have preferred if i divided it into different POVs? And how do you want this story to go?

Do tell me what you feel about it by **REVIEWING!**

A special thanks to **UnattractiveGoddess, ShannonJacob, StarElsie, Innerflame98, sangeeta, whointheworldwouldbelievethat, hatsumemiku10, Hayface, Tsuray, Misami1213, ilovemusicfanofeverything, EchizenRyoma **and 4 guests for the encouraging reviews. Do continue to motivate me. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Maid-sama but the plot is mine.

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Chapter 3:

I tapped my pen on the glass covering my table restlessly. I have to make my move quickly or my mother will eat me alive for sure. It's finally Friday, you see? And Friday being the supposedly blind-cum-known date, my mother and Sakura is driving me up the wall. Mom has called me 5 times since morning. And let me tell you, 5 calls from Madam Hitler means situation Red Alert, I should follow her dictatorship with absolute dedication or else she will turn up with her unique attacks namely boxing my ears or sentimental tactics like stories of daughters of her friends or urging dad to talk to me about how not all boys are evil. Her call number one was a wake up call to remind me that it was Friday, second one was right before I took off for office to ensure I do not take heavy workload because it's date night and I leave early, third one at lunch time to check weather I was abiding by the instruction of her call number one and two, fourth one in the afternoon to 'advice' me (more like order) to wrap up my work and the fifth one to ensure I am abiding by her which made it really difficult for me to concentrate today. I feel like I will be going out on a date with the President given all the fuss they are making. I thought I would get off by 9 tonight like I usually do and go straight off for my date but no, according to people super interested-read that as nosy-in my dating life, I should come home 2 hours early at 7 and dress up well. Yes, it is my mom's and Sakura's idea combined. They are getting along awesomely together now that they have found a common interest with a common prey-that is the poor me-to toy with.

Now, comes the most pressing matter, I have to leave by 7. Well, I would have loved to disobey my mom had she been any other woman but no, she still has me on a leash, remember the special attacks I just explained? I have to get off by 7. I am almost done with my tomorrow's paper and editing work but I have the day after's to go through too. I can do it tomorrow but I like to keep myself ahead and again if I have to get off by 7, I wouldn't be able to finish. I can take it easy for a day but the thought of ditching work for a date I am not even interested in, it's like letting go of a favorite toy to do something boring like eating your vegetables. I do suck at metaphor, so endure it. The word 'date' is making me cranky.

'AYUZAWA'

I started and blinked furiously to focus my eyes towards the owner of the voice and it gradually focused on a feline-featured raven haired man with deep blue eyes scowling at me. I narrowed my eyes at that scowling face. When did he appear out of the blue and why the hell is he scowling? I don't like people scowling at me when I didn't do anything.

'Did anyone teach you how to knock?' I commented acidly, glaring daggers at him. I have a mirror reaction thingy, you know. Like if you are sweet, I will be sweet and if you are hostile so will I. It's like I will treat you the exact way you treat me and this man brings out the best of me.

'I was knocking from time eternity while you were sitting here all alone and day dreaming, idiot.', replied the man scowling again as he slammed two files on my desk.

Shit. Was I daydreaming again? I was thinking but I didn't drift off, did I? This is not good. I blushed in embarrassment.

'Don't call me an idiot, idiot!' I retorted turning my gaze down and focused on the papers at hand as I tried to hide my embarrassment. Doesn't matter however he caught me, I have to keep my dignity.

'So, what got you so cranky?' the man asked as his features relaxed and took a seat without waiting for my permission.

'None of your business, Aoi.' I replied as I snatched the files he brought and started looking through it.

Aoi got up, looked around and locked the door of my cabin and purposefully sat down with a glint on his midnight blue eyes, a glint I know very well.

'Spit it out, you hag.' He said, his gaze piercing mine, and added, 'What is bugging you?'

I sighed. He calls me names as a way of concern. I have known Aoi since my high-school days. I used to work as a waitress in a café called Maid-latte and he was the nephew of the manager there. He used to cross dress at that time, a fact he would kill me for if I expose it to our colleagues here. He was in middle school at that time, yes, he is two years younger than me. Long story short, we grew fond of each other and our bond of friendship strengthened when he joined Tokyo Times after doing a course on journalism and also a correspondence course in fashion designing. He is the editor of our lifestyle section and a superb one at that too. Our circulation went up by 15% after he became the editor. I have asked him several times why he didn't become a designer instead of an editor as he was really good with designing and sewing outfits, in fact, he makes one for me on my birthday each year, but he brushes it aside every time by saying that he is more keen to know and observe other people's fashion and style than create his own for the time being. But what I suspect is that the old man, his father, threatened to disown him if he had anything to do with fashion, as it seemed girly to him, so Aoi did journalism and got into TT to start earning in order to save up enough to start his own line of clothing in the future. I am not that oblivious as some people claim. I just sometime choose not to reveal what I know. And it is impossible to keep something from him, he knows when something is wrong with me. But do I really look bugged? I have to work on my poker face more.

'A date.' I mumbled as I scribbled on the post-it note meant for my assistant.

'Do you want me to beat up that guy?'

I looked up startled and stared at Aoi for 5 full seconds before bursting into laughter outright on his face. He really is so sweet and sometimes says the most unimaginable things. Come to think of it, I wish the date-guy was some semi-known guy I truly dislike and I would have replied in affirmative to beat that guy up but what I could not imagine is Aoi doing the beating himself, literally. He is the most non-violent guy I know and trust me, if I have to imagine Aoi fighting, I can picture him involved in a thumb-fight at most. God, it is really funny. I really should thank him for cheering me up. That earned me a scowl from him.

'I was not joking, you know.' He said as he folded his arms with an offended air and leaned back on the chair avoiding my gaze. His ears have turned red with embarrassment.

I tried to straighten my face as I replied, 'I know, Aoi. Thanks but no thanks. I think I can handle this one by myself. I know aikido.'

'Who is this guy, by the way? Don't say it is a blind date.' He asked his expression filled with brotherly concern.

I shook my head and replied, 'A guy I knew till middle school. My mom trapped me into it.'

'Oh! Then you can kiss this guy for a change and tell!', Aoi said snidely as he closed his eyes and slouched. You know, he proposed me right after he joined TT and I had turned him down. Two reasons, I valued Aoi's friendship too much to jeopardize it with a relationship and, moreover, I never felt any romantic/hormonal inclination towards him, we were more like siblings. And thankfully he has understood and never broached that subject. I know he cares about me like I do about him and has been urging me to go out for ages and I did go out with a couple of men before but it all ended up with me telling them that I was not interested. They were really very boring or too serious for my taste or just-not-my-type! There was once a guy who did fit my bill but then he had this nose-picking habit which immediately made me put him in the reject list. See, why don't I want to go on dates? Another nose-picking guy might kill me, before I actually get to a point to want to kiss someone. And it has been almost one year since I last went on a date. Geez, it really has been that long?

'Aoi! Not everything revolves round a kiss.' I retorted. This guy has this weird theory that you can assess a person-like weather you want to continue seeing a person or if the interest is worth the countless dates by the first kiss. The first kiss can make or break a relationship. And do you want to know why I don't follow this rule? Because the theory man himself has kissed countless women and still has not found anyone to go on to a second date with, though I did approve of two girls he dated but according to him, they didn't pass the kiss test. And no, Aoi and I have never kissed. No self-respecting woman will kiss an unknown man on their first date and that makes me question the type of people Aoi hangs out with and dates. He sure is popular with girls. Aoi can be a perfect gentleman when he wants to be. Didn't I tell you he used to cross-dress when he was in middle school? He knows a girl mentality very well.

'Whatever. Something tells me you two will kiss today.' He replied as he got up and straightened his jacket and came over to ruffle my hair.

'Don't put ideas in my head, jerk.' I really hate Aoi for adding extra fuel to my imagination. I was having a hard time thinking of going to a date after an eternity and now thanks to him, I will be thinking about why I would kiss this guy and would stare at his lips and that would be really embarrassing. That's what precisely happened with the last guy I went out with until I saw him picking his nose. I wish I could put my thoughts on a leash but at this point, it is really impossible. I hate Aoi. I glared daggers at him as I stood up.

'And you should get laid.' He replied positively amused at my reaction. He knows how my mind works and he smirked at the agony growing on my face by his words.

'One more word like that and I will kick you out of this planet.' I breathed, fuming as I showed him my fist as if to dare him. He used to be shorter than me when we first met at Maid-Latte but now he has grown around half a foot taller than me. I see so many girl and boy friends being so friendly and affectionate but somehow Aoi and I always end up calling names, cursing and fuming over each other's stupidity. Why can't he just say nice things to me like that this guy will be great or something really sweet? Guess this is what seems normal to us or rather this is how we show our affection, my life can have nothing remotely normal.

'I am leaving anyway.' He said lazily as if unaffected by my threats a moment ago and paused on his way towards the door and turned around, 'Oh! Captain told me that you will be attending the Hope charity event this Sunday and seek an interview with Gerard Walker who will be the chief guest. He will mail you the details by tonight.'

'Right.' I nodded and added, 'I will be off by 7 today. So call me if you need me.' Captain is the nickname of our director Mr. Fujiwara. He is currently out of town and Aoi is holding his fort in the meantime.

Aoi whistled putting his hands in his jacket pocket, 'I so know you are going to get laid tonight.'

'Shut up!' I retorted as I pushed him out of my cabin and slammed the door. Stupid Aoi. I have decided to make Aoi my plus one for Sakura's wedding if nothing-which I am quite sure about-happens with Shintani but now I think that I have to change my mind and dig for another one. And on cue my phone started dancing-you know-vibrating. It's from mom. _Again!_

'Yes mom! I will be off by 7 don't worry.' I assured her and without waiting for her reply I cut it off. I already know what she was about to say anyway and as I am already going to a date she should have nothing to complain about for the next one month at least. The things I get myself into for these people. I sighed again. There's only so much I can endure and I already feel like being driven into a corner and forced to go on this date not to mention Aoi putting words like kiss and getting laid in my whimsical mind palace. More like death, and funnily, don't both words-date and death-sound phonetic?

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

I examined myself in the mirror and a slim built, pale complexioned girl with shoulder length straight raven hair on an egg-shaped head, big amber eyes with knobby knees stared back at me. I am not beautiful in any sense but I have been called attractive. Maybe it was because of the stark contrast of my raven hair with my pale skin paired with my big eyes which Sakura had described as 'molten gold' when we first met. Apart from my eyes, which I admit is my best feature; I find nothing appealing in myself. Oh yes, I had been blessed with an overactive metabolic system which digests any food I hog as soon as possible or maybe, because I had always been physically active (you know like sports, walking, fighting tooth-and-nail with Aoi over articles) throughout the day rendering me to stay skinny. I wish I had voluminous curls or the looks like Sakura or a curvy body like Shizuko. I signed. I had to make the most of what I have got. That also made me envy Shizuko on successfully avoiding coming over to my place for this make up session. Sakura tried her best to bring her. I wish I was in her place.

I called out, 'Finished choosing my attire for the night? I am getting cold in here, Sakura!'

As you must have guessed correctly, Sakura came over to choose the perfect attire for me. I think she is taking it very seriously as she also brought a sack full of her own stuff to make sure nothing goes amiss. Seriously! I feel like she is preparing me for my wedding minus the guests, vows and rings. I cannot see the fuss over a simple date. And it is not like I don't know the guy and he knows me too, so what's the point of trying to look extra 'made' up? But Sakura thinks that was precisely the point. I sometimes wonder why I don't have a single feminine bone in my body, not literally, but you get what I am talking about. Though I am not fussy about my clothing, but I like my clothes to be not so provocative or revealing. That nagging of mine was what made Sakura push me in the bathroom and told me to strip down and wait for her to hand me the clothes she thinks will fit me.

'Here.' She said thrusting a black dress through the opening of the bathroom door.

I unfolded and examined it with my mental checklist. Not transparent anywhere? Check. Knee length? Umm…almost check. Neckline above cleavage? Check. No chance of wardrobe malfunction? Check.

The dress was actually decent. It was a sleeveless, knee length black dress with a modest red thin belt in the middle. I actually was there when Sakura bought it for me for my birthday, but I have never got round to wearing it. I don't go to parties much, I am the nerdy type. I bet she had decided to make me wear this dress right at the restaurant when I told her the news of my date. It was pretty and fitted me well, I admitted, as I changed into it and admired my reflection in the mirror.

'You look so cute, Misaki!' squealed Sakura as she entered the bathroom without permission. Respecting privacy is what Sakura never knows and same goes for Aoi as well. Then again, what the heck, she didn't catch me in a half-dressed situation.

I rolled my eyes as I mumbled, 'why so much fuss?'

'Because it has been almost a year since you went out with a guy.' She replied promptly.

'Who said that? I go out with plenty of guys every day.' I replied snidely as I adjusted the belt around my waist.

'Haha! Very funny, Misaki.' replied Sakura nonchalantly and added excitedly, 'I meant as in a date, for the purpose of romance and nothing professional.'

I rolled my eyes again and remarked, 'Date is also like a professional stuff nowadays-meeting for the sole purpose of love as if you could force yourself to love. I bet there are people who get paid to date.'

'Misaki Ayuzawa!' she started putting her hands on her hips in a very mom-ish way. I could sense that she would grow into a Nazi mom just like mine as she added, 'No more of that thrash talk now. Stay still while I apply makeup.'

'Just a simple touch! Don't make me look like a Broadway dancer!' I warned as I closed my eyes suspiciously. My normal everyday makeup consists of eyeliner and a lip-gloss but the future Nazi here has a whole different idea and which consists of about half a dozen cosmetics like mascara, blusher, foundation, kohl, concealer, eye-shadow, eyebrow liner and other stuff whose name I cannot recall for the life of me. And sadly, I don't even know how all of these cosmetics go where and how. I do not blame Aoi's frustration over me when it comes to makeup, that guy is a wizard when it comes to make-up. I sometimes think that we accidentally exchanged souls and got trapped into the wrong body.

'Misaki keep your face still or I will really make you into a Broadway dancer.' Sakura threatened. This made me imagine myself holding out a hat and walking in the dramatic ways the Broadway showcases but in front of Shintani and I look ridiculous. I sometimes wish I did not have such an overactive imagination.

'Face done! Now it's time for the lipstick.' Stated Sakura as she made me turn my head in different directions to check on her work. I sneaked a look in the mirror and found that she has indeed done a subtle make-up but it looks natural. This brings me to my most pressing question, what was the point of spending so much on cosmetics to get the natural look. Natural look comes naturally, doesn't it? If you are going to do a show like Broadway dance, then you put on makeup so that the person sitting on the far back can notice your features. And does love blossom only between people who knows how to wear makeup perfectly or those who are beautiful to look at with makeup or without or by looking at their very soul? Dating sounds very superficial now, doesn't it? If I could have it my way, I would just go in my office attire looking how I usually do-decent that is and find out who prefers that Misaki to the made-up Misaki curtsy Sakura. And I bet that although I would find less people willing to date me when I will be in an office attire than how I am dressed up now but those people would be genuinely interested in me and also those people would shamelessly pick their nose in front of you. I am not being superficial myself, but I do appreciate good manners. If you want to pick your nose do it in the privacy of an isolated place and wash the fingers afterwards and not in front of people who would have to shake your hand. Birds have got the right idea about dating. The male birds polishes his looks to attract a female who would have him whereas female don't even bother to look good as they would be the one to bear their child hence they should be worshiped by all the male birds as they fight for her attention. Why can't we follow that? The truth be told, I am utterly weary of being the oldest, surviving member of the single's club as my mom describe it every morning. Damn it, all my friends have departed from the congregation whether it was through engagements, proposals or weddings or steady boyfriends while I have rooted to my throne of singleness. Now I feel like I have reached a new low as I have agreed to go on an almost blind date-something I swore of never to do again and am just preparing for it. And with that, I felt a sharp pinch on my arm.

'Sakura!' I almost screamed, 'that hurts!' looking annoyed as I rubbed my affected arm.

'Then quit daydreaming. You look gorgeous now.' She replied as she did the finishing touch up on my hair. Sakura, thankfully, let my hair hang loose but made it shinier with serum and brushed it evenly for me and she has put a red-type of lipstick on me which is supposed to be called blush colour. Sakura is a stylist by profession and she is the official stylist for the band his fiancé is in called Uxmishi. She is truly talented.

I inspected the makeup in the mirror critically trying to figure out mentally debating whether or not to ask Sakura to change my lipstick shade. I have read up on a fascinating theory on colors and style (curtsy Aoi who authored it) applied to lip colors like each shade carries a particular message. Like red or its shade wildly screams desperately for male attention whereas pink suggests playfulness, nude means serious and I forgot the rest. And I don't want to look desperate for attention, well anyway, it's a date, so it is implied. I mentally slapped myself to stop sulking when I turned around and saw Sakura taking my picture.

'Don't say you are going to send it to mom?' I asked suspiciously. To my disappointment she giggled and chirruped, 'You are looking beautiful. Wish I could dress you up like this every day.'

'No thank you.' I muttered under my breadth as I looked towards my wall clock and saw it was already 8-30pm.

'I have to go now. My official semi-blind date will be waiting in the restaurant.' I said nonchalantly as I picked up my 'dainty' handbag and my shrug and made it for the door.

'Oh! Good! I will clean up and then leave. Good luck Misaki!' chimed Sakura as she comically gave me the much-dramatic bon voyage-type goodbye. I am going on a date not on my honeymoon, yet. I guess explanation will be futile on her now.

As I trudged down the road in my uncomfortable high heels (which Sakura forced me to wear) towards the pre-specified restaurant, I wondered how Shintani will look different from the way he used to back at middle school. I myself have changed so much over the years that I honestly will not be surprised if I could not recognize Shintani at a glance. I used to call him Yuo-kun back in those days. I silently prayed to not make him pick his nose or fart or all the yucky stuff. As I reached the restaurant which was only around two blocks from my place, I first scanned the perimeter for any sign of the familiar stranger as I found none, I went up to the smiling manager and asked for a reservation under Hinata. The manger promptly smiled and ushered me inside to point to a private booth at one corner where a brunette guy with his back to me was sipping on a glass of water.

As I walked towards the table, I mentally braced myself to expect the unexpected and not to let any of my klutz moment ruin my dignity. I stopped just a few inches away from him. Now is the moment of truth as I inhaled deeply and breathed, 'Hi Shintani.'

And promptly, the brunette whipped his head and a pair of brown eyes gazed towards me. We stared like this for what seemed like a few seconds before the owner of the brown eyes broke into a boyish smile and stood up to give me a hug.

'Misa-chan!'

* * *

I wrote 5 different starting for this chapter and almost none satisfied me till this one. Though i won't say complete satisfaction.

And sadly, I could not fit Usui in this draft but i promise he will be there in the next one. ;)

Anyways, **REVIEW! :)**

A big shoutout to **sangeeta, aqua girl, ChocoCaramelCookie, Tsuray, StarElsie, shannon jacob, hayface, innerflame98, EchizenRyoma, UnattractiveGoddess, Suzume Suzuki, qwerty, EmpressMinea, Kimi Ayuzawa, axcel-lili, WishingUsuiWasReal** and 5 guests for the lovely reviews.

I will try my best to update faster. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Nope, still don't own them.

A super-fast update, served hot! :)

Happy Reading!

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Chapter 4:

'And then I looked around and saw Fido walking away with that…'

I tried to stifle a yawn as I made myself appear interested in Shintani's story and what a long story it was. It seemed to go on for hours though my watch indicated that it has only been 7mins. Treacherous watch. Rather I should blame the whole time system for this. When I am actually interested in something, time always fly away and when I want to kill time desperately, even snails can come first in that race.

I studied Shintani's facial features. Puberty had blessed him indeed. He had grown to be quite tall, muscular without an ounce of extra flab with prominent cheekbones surrounded by soft brown hair and to top it all his skin was tanned, all the criteria you need to define a perfect hunk and I did not feel at all attracted to him. He works in research and development of agriculture for our government and I bet he acquired that tan while working on his farm for long hours under the sun. I have suspected that given he was such a foodie who had an appetite to eat anything and everything remotely edible; he had to work under some consumable product company and he was narrating some work related incident. I kind of understood why mom was forcing me to go out on a date with him because

a) he has the looks

b) he works in a respectable company and earns well

c) our family has known each other for a long time

d) obviously, he is single and of my age and

e) doesn't seem to have any nose-picking tendencies.

He is perfect for me technically but? Yes, now comes my infamous, but he is absolutely not a person of my frequency. Now, I don't know how to define a person of my frequency but he has to have an authority about him, good taste and a person with whom I can see eye to eye. I don't go by looks but the guy has to have substance. Shintani does have plenty of substance but there is this boyish air around him which makes me feel older, more like his mother than a friend or a future-lover. I used to be all motherly and order him around when we were kids and that feeling has not changed even now. I cannot feel any prospective romance between us at all.

My musing came to a halt when I heard his voice halt, 'And? Guess what I saw?'

I gave him a practiced smile and replied with enthusiasm, 'What? Tell me!'

And he started off again. Our date started off well enough though, we asked after each other's family, exchanged pleasantries about our social situation and updated about each other's academic and professional life and then we ran out of topics, so he started talking about his work. All these occurred under 37minutes, not to mention I have finished my food too while he is only halfway through. Can this date go any less slow? And I have to endure it for another one hour at least for decency's sake. See why I don't like to go on dates?

'Wow, you are really good at that' complemented Shintani, eyeing the object at my hand.

I smiled and placed the origami swan, I made out of my napkin while he was talking, in the middle of the table. I have picked up origami as a hobby to kill time through the boring lectures during college. Shintani smiled back at me a little sadly. Now I feel like a beast to disrespect him like this. It was never my intention and I don't know how to amend this. If it had been any other guy I wouldn't have cared much but he is my childhood friend. I have to pay more attention to him for the next one hour.

'Umm, Shintani, excuse me for a moment. Washroom.'

'Sure.' Shintani nodded.

I gracefully stood up and made my way towards the comfort room. I checked my reflection in the mirror and slapped my cheeks lightly to pick myself up. I never felt so trapped in moral obligation before. And then I thought of the unthinkable, there was a bar right across the street, maybe, just maybe I could grab a shot and then join him. I seriously need to loosen up around him and contribute something to the conversation myself if I don't want to experience hell from mom and Sakura. I spied Shintani from the gap of the comfort-room door and mentally measured the distance between him and the exit and the chances of going and getting back unnoticed by him. As his back was towards the exit passage, the odds really were in my favor. I hurriedly made my way towards the exit and made my way into the bar. Thankfully it was not as crowded as I expected as most people were in the dance-floor and I almost wished Shintani had chosen this place instead of that restaurant. I smiled my best smile at the bartender and ordered for a tequila shot.

'Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine…' uttered a familiar velvety voice from my right.

I turned my head in surprise to meet the familiar blonde who had treated me two days ago. He had a beer mug in his hand and was it my imagination or did he look thoroughly beat? He looks even hotter when he is tired. What the hell am I thinking? Is he really sitting alone with a beer and the bartender for company? And he still had the nerve to tease me? He was smiling as if amused. I averted my gaze.

'Don't Casablanca me, smart mouth!' I said, as I grabbed the shot glass, emptied it and sucked on the lemon. It burned my throat but felt worth it.

His smile seemed to grow wider as he said, 'I like to think you killed a man. It's the Romantic in me…' Another line from Casablanca but he manipulated the original scenario, it was so cheesy that it almost made me blush but thank god for the low lighting. It was the first Hollywood movie I watched as a kid and it is an all time classic of mine. I was really surprised he loves it too judging by the way he was saying the lines and in an even more sensual way than the movie. 99% of the people I have encountered have never seen this movie or those who have seen it, by my recommendation, didn't love it the way i did. The tequila seemed to be working on my nerves. I have very low tolerance and a tequila shot was just right to help me start floating if you know what I mean. I smiled.

'As much as I would like to sit here and swap Casablanca quotes, I have to get back to a date, Usui. Sayonara.' I replied as I gathered my clutch, paid the bill and left. I could feel Usui's eyes following me but didn't look back as I have already wasted enough time, Shintani must be wondering about me by now.

'Misa-chan! You took your sweet time' greeted Shintani, as I took my place. His plate was gone and a single dessert bowl was placed in the middle; I really have been gone for quite a while.

'Oh! I ran into someone from work. Sorry for that.' I replied smoothly as I took a spoonful off my dessert.

'I have been subscribing TT for so long and didn't get to know once that you were the editor. What are the odds?' He chimed cheerfully as he leaned in and took a spoonful of the dessert. I looked around and, to my despair, saw two couples kissing over their bowl of dessert. Are we expected to do the same? This is too soon and moreover we are not that kind of a friend to share from a single bowl of dessert! Am I thinking too much? Then I realized that this restaurant was full of couples. How did I miss this vital fact before now?

'Didn't we order two bowls of dessert, Shintani?' I enquired, frowning lightly. I know I did but forgot if he did.

'No. Only Misa-chan ordered for the dessert.' He answered as he slowly licked the spoon. My gaze shifted to his lips and I found myself gulping in sync with his adam's apple. Was that a sexual innuendo on his part?

'Misa-chan! Why are you staring like that? Do you want me to feed you?' He remarked and without any hesitation he scooped another spoonful and held it out for me. Oh my god! This must be his move. This is not happening! I do not want this! We were having a friendly conversation and the next thing I know he was licking his spoon slowly and feeding me off his. It's such a drastic transformation. What exactly did he eat while I was out in the bar? Or is the tequila making me imagine things? No, I am not that high. I could feel his intense gaze on me and do not like the way this date is going now. Or is he just being friendly and I am taking it the other way round and thinking diabolically? I have to end this false conception of romance.

'Shinta-'

'Misaki, honey!' I looked up and was again greeted by the familiar blonde and the owner of the tantalizing emerald eyes.

'Usui!' I gasped in surprise at his unusual greeting and even more so when he took my hand and kissed it softly. I stared, my mind and body both paralyzed by what was happening as I asked, 'What are you doing here?' I glared right into his darkened eyes to silently ask him the reason for whatever-he-was doing. He just raised an eyebrow and gave me a smolder. Why does he have to be so freaking hot just when I want my wits around me?

'Baby, you forgot? We had that thing planned for tonight?' replied Usui smoothly, his eyes never leaving mine. God this is so embarrassing. He addressed me as sweetheart and baby! I cannot stand being called by those names and I had no idea what the hell was happening and why Usui was doing this and even more so the people around us-even the kissing couple-were looking over at our table with interest. I felt the heat rising on my cheeks as I blushed crimson with embarrassment. Usui's looks and antics sure attracted a lot of admiring attention. I sneaked a glance at Shintani from the corner of my eye and saw him moving his head to and fro taking turns to look at our expression. I turned my head to look at Shintani fully and on cue Usui dropped my hand and turned his head smoothly over to him and greeted politely extending his hand, 'Hello, I don't think we have met. I am Dr. Usui Takumi, Misaki's doctor.'

'Hinata Shintani' replied Shintani, looking as surprised as I by this declaration. Since when a doctor addresses his patient by calling them honey, baby and goes around kissing their hand? And it is so inappropriate! I don't even want to imagine what Shintani was thinking! And Usui said we had something planned for tonight? It's 10pm already and i think the time will not leave much to the imagination of even a decent-minded person. Can this Adonis make me even more embarrassed?

'Shintani, will you please excuse Misaki for the night? She has not been taking her pills for the last few days and she needs an immediate check-up' lied the Adonis as he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to my feet and instead of letting me go, he slid his hand and nestled it around my waist. A check-up at 10 pm? This was getting more lame! The close proximity with his body was making me blush even more, if that's even possible. I am not used to guys holding my waist, I don't think anyone dared to do it before. I elbowed him in the ribs and stomped on his feet to let go off me, but he stubbornly held on and moreover he squeezed me even tighter to his side as he soothed me in an undertone, 'Now, now. Trust me.' What the heck?

'Why? What's wrong with Misaki?' asked Shintani, his face contorted with worry. He apparently had not witnessed my silent rebellion nor saw through the lame cover-ups of Usui. Blame the low lighting, my black dress and Usui's charming appearance to let my silent struggle and embarrassment go unnoticed.

'Low blood pressure.' I said hurriedly as I pinched Usui's hand on my waist but Usui frowned at me and added promptly, ' erythema infectiosum, parovirus B19.'

I could almost predict Usui would say some tongue twisting medical term so as to confuse the layman and right on cue, Shintani opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish unable to formulate how to digest the information, and before he could collect his wits, Usui added, 'We have to go now. Good day to you sir.' And just like that he grabbed my hand and tugged me towards him. I hurriedly left some bills on my table to cover for my food and mouthed a stunned Shintani that I would give him a call soon before I was almost dragged towards the kitchen door much to the amusement of all the onlookers of the restaurant. I don't think I will be ever able to come back to this restaurant in the future.

Usui did not utter a single word or let my hand go as he dragged me through the kitchen and out through the back door to a deserted alley.

'Usui.' I almost screamed as I wrenched my arm away from his grip at last.

'You are welcome.' He replied as he turned around to face me, crossing his arms across his chest and a frown appearing on his flawless skin. Who the hell did he think he was, dragging me across the room and thoroughly embarrassing me?

'I did not need your help and I don't remember even asking you nor was it needed.' I scowled, adjusting my dress.

'And remind me what kind of lady comes in the middle of a date to a bar to have a tequila shot?' he challenged as his frown got replaced with an amused look.

'Not the desperate kind.' I mumbled as I looked down at my shoes. He caught me there. Damn him! I shouldn't have said that I was on a date. I sound like a pathetic mess now.

'You know how you sound? Like a woman who's trying to convince herself of something she doesn't believe.' He replied as he strode closer to me. A clever manipulation of a Casablanca quote! Well, two could play this game.

'Go ahead and shoot me. You'll be doing me a favor.' I replied with another line, showing my displeasure as I inched away from him. His eyes brightened at my counter dialogue and his lips smiled.

'You despise me, don't you?' he replied with another line as he cornered me against a wall and put his hand on one side to restrict my movement. I was supposed to be angry at this but I was too mesmerized by this play of dialogues and my heart started to beat erratically. What does he plan on doing? I could take care of myself if he tries something funny but deep down I am not disliking it that much. What is wrong with me? I have never felt like this with anyone. I felt the treacherous heat rise on my cheeks to betray my feelings. My gaze momentarily shifted to his perfectly symmetrical lips as he inched closer and Aoi's famous theory of first-kiss floated in my mind. No! No! I should not surrender to my hormonal desires so easily. Stupid hormones getting in the way of my thought process. My spider-instincts told me that Usui cannot be a molester or a bad person, nothing more than annoying who takes advantage of his looks to get away with stuff and he must be showered with woman throwing themselves at him left, right and center then why was he out drinking alone? I know next to nothing about him and vice-versa and here we are. He just saved me (again), though there was nothing to be saved from but an infinite boredom or from the move Shintani was trying to pull. Should I be thankful? I did not ask for it. I could handle myself well thank you very much.

'I didn't ask you to save me. I didn't need any saving.' I commented as I slipped sideways past his barrier-like-chest much to his annoyance and made my way to the other end of the alley leading to the main street. I didn't want to get into anymore embarrassing situation with him than I can help it and a close proximity with him is certainly a big no-no!

'But you weren't enjoying it either and I didn't like the way that guy was trying to feed you.' He replied as he caught up with me and started walking by my side.

I stopped on my tracks and turned to face this self-opinion thrusting Adonis, 'that's none of your business nosy Usui!' I retorted, my hands on my hips. I was trying my mom's pose when she wanted to make a point. And I was making a good point. 'I was not even in a damsel-in-distress situation like that to need a prince in shining armor like you to rescue me. I was getting along perfectly fine till you came butting in. I can handle myself on my own. I don't need anyone's help.'

'So you are single then Ayuzawa!' he asked, the playful spark returning in his gaze. What? That's what he deduced from my ranting? I huffed in annoyance, turned around and continued my walk towards the other end of the alley. I cannot deny the accusation but at the same time I cannot even agree to that. And what does he think of himself questioning a woman he barely knew about her singleness? Isn't that downright rude? Is he mocking me on my inability to find a boyfriend yet? What about him? He looks single too judging by his lonely beer in the bar. The sad fact is that he could date and marry any girl he wants while I get stuck with the creeps.

'Will you join me for drinks? I assume you had your dinner already.' He said as he caught up with me again.

'Give me one good reason why!' I asked as I kept my gaze on the road. These heels were killing me. I wonder how women bear-even-love to wear high heels day in and day out.

'Because I could really do with some good company tonight.' He stated simply.

That made me stop on my track. He is a neurosurgeon, an awesome chef and good looking so surely he must have plenty of friends or he could just choose any woman to keep him company. But-

'Why me of all people?' I asked curiously looking at his face fully in the light of the streetlamp and was again reminded of the fact how beat he looked and even more so than he had looked in the bar.

'Just because you despise me, you are the only one I trust.' He quoted another line from Casablanca, his eyes hidden under his blonde bangs.

'Don't Casablanca me, smart mouth.' I repeated as I crossed my arms across my chest.

'And because you are the only one who could get my Casablanca references.' He said looking up and smiling warmly. That line made me blush. And I cannot deny me being the only one either. He is also the only one I know who could quote Casablanca like that whereas most have never seen it. I don't know how to stay angry with him now and I felt a little relieved that he 'rescued' me from that date. I know I would not hear the end of it curtsey my mom and Sakura but I have time till tomorrow morning to start facing that. I should enjoy while I can and tomorrow is Saturday, I could report late to office. Moreover, he is not a complete stranger now. Just a familiar stranger who helped me twice and I feel sort-of safe around him.

'Ok. Where to?' I said conceding as I adjusted my heels to a more comfortable position, these are killing me.

'Are you sure you can walk wearing those?' he enquired as his brows knitted together in concern and held out his arm for support.

'Yes, yes. Don't worry.' As I shrugged off his offer but he took my hand anyway and guided me towards a small pub situated at the end of the alley.

The pub turned out to be a homely, cozy, old fashioned one made of oak-wood and a juke-box as the only music-player and it had a modest empty dance floor and very few people drinking though all looked decent enough.

'Not bad, huh?', Usui murmured near my ears, as we took the high chair in the bar counter and ordered two mugs of beer to start off. I always prefer beer compared to any other cocktail like margaritas or cosmopolitan or harder stuff like vodka or whiskey. Another sad fact to add to my growing list of reasons for lacking a feminine bone.

'So?' he started, raising his beer mug with a mischievous glint in his emerald eyes.

'So?' I challenged, suddenly feeling five years younger as his infectious childish-mischievous aura rubbed off me. I have not done anything so wild in a very long while and I just want to forget my daily mental constraints for one night. Is it too much to ask?

'Shall we chug this one?' he asked raising an eyebrow.

'Aren't we too old for this?' I asked, raising my voice over an unfamiliar music playing in the jukebox.

'Damn that. Tonight we are young.' He said giving me a wink and added, 'Let's play a game. Whoever finishes late has to tell a secret or a fact about themselves. Deal?'

I mentally started to debate the pros and cons of playing this game but then I abandoned it midway. I didn't want to think much as I felt my heart flutter and my head lighter at the thought of swapping secrets with Usui. I am curious about this lonely Adonis and at the same time glad that I have his company for tonight. I know I will be regretting a lot of things tomorrow morning as my life will return to its normal self, so adding a little more to the pile won't make much difference rather will serve as a good memory. I smiled at his questioning face and answered, 'Deal!' and we shook our hands on it like gentleman. Casablanca buffs, after all! And we started gulping all the beer down in one gulp!

I was the one to finish first, I am highly competitive, you see and I really loathe losing. I laughed at my accomplishment as the world became a much warmer place with the beer filling my belly. I flicked Usui on his forehead to mark my victory, 'Out with a secret or a fact, loser.' I demanded.

Usui smiled as he slowly rubbed the spot I flicked and said, 'A patient died on my table today. He was the 5th one in 2 years.'

So that's why he needed company tonight. I really felt sorry for him, being a surgeon is really hard. I went over to him and massaged his arm to express how sorry I was. He shrugged it off with a sad smile saying, 'Let's have another round, shall we? This time we will take small shots. The same rule applies, deal?' And I nodded enthusiastically.

The next round was shots of tequila and much to my disappointment, Usui won this time. He winked at me and said courteously, 'Your secret, ma'am?'

'I was dying in that date. Thank god you saved me.' I said honestly and partly to cheer him up. He chuckled. I winked back at him and added, 'another round?'

'Sure, princess.'

Usui won the next round again.

'Casablanca is my all time classic movie.' I shared. Usui smiled and added, 'So is mine. Next round?'

I won the next round.

'I have always been a nerd and wore big round glasses.' He shared, gesturing the size of his glasses in front of his eyes. I giggled and said, 'I couldn't tell!'

He won the next round. By this time I was feeling a little dizzy but not out of control yet. I looked at his grinning face as I pondered over a fact to share when a familiar dance number called 'addicted to you' by Avicii started to play in the juke box.

'I really like this song. Reminds me of my college days.' I shared as I started to slightly swing with the beats. Usui took my hand to pull me closer so that i could hear his voice over the music, 'Do you want to dance?' He offered.

At that point, I was past all self-consciousness and was at my ease with him as I replied with, 'Why not?' and removed my killer-heels to accompany him on the dance floor.

* * *

**_Facts:_**

**i)** yes, I am a Casablanca buff. you should give it a watch too. A doomed love story though.

**ii)** _erythema infectiosum_ also called the fifth disease. In Japan the disease is called "apple sickness" or ringo-byou in reference to the symptom of facial redness. In Hungary it is called "butterfly pox" as the red cheeks look like the wings of a butterfly. The name "fifth disease" comes from its place on the standard list of rash-causing childhood diseases, which also includes measles,scarlet fever, and rubella. [source: wiki]

**iii)** 'chug' means drowning a glass full in one swig and in as few gulps as possible.

**iv)** i should change this story rating to 'M' from the next chapter.

**v)** I just found (and joined) an 'Usui Takumi' page on fb.

**vi)** i sadly don't proof-read much. So feel free to point out the mistakes and i will correct them asap.

**vii)** chapter 1,2 and 3 of this story was posted at an exact gap of 11 days. Happy co-incidence indeed!

**REVIEW!** **REVIEW! REVIEW!** and tell me how do you like this? **:D** Is the pace too fast?

A giant packet of chocolate chip cookies to **WishingUsuiWasReal, sangeeta, Tsuray, StarElsie, asha, aqua girl, innerflame98, UnattractiveGoddess, aurora, shannon jacob **and 3 guests for the reviews. I hope you will really like this chapter. :)

A giant hug to all the people who Favorited/followed me or my story or both. :)

**Tsuray: **I have passed out of school but that has made my schedule more erratic, hence the late updates. So be a little patient. I won't make you or anyone wait for more than a week, tops. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Still no luck.

Enjoy the ride! :)

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Chapter 5

I stirred my slightly aching, hung-over head, while keeping my eyes closed, as sunlight fell directly on my face. Wrong side of the bed again, I usually sleep on the other side of the bed where sunlight could not bother me. I turned to the other side and cuddled up to a warm substance I assumed to be my faithful side-pillow but it felt harder and warmer than usual. I sighed, still keeping my eyes closed, as I let my pillow encase me in its warmth. HOLD ON. REWIND! Did I say encase? The pillow encased me?

My eyes flew open in shock and were instantly greeted with a pair of emerald green eyes.

I sat up panicking and way too fast to immediately regret it as my head spun 720 degrees, 'Oh my god! This is NOT happening!' I groaned as I put my hand on my head as if to make it stop spinning. I rubbed my eyes with my knuckles as if to believe what I just saw was also a an illusion fuelled by my hang over and then turned my head to my right, like you see in horror movies where the protagonist looks around a corner for sign of any paranormal happenings, in my case-to confirm what I just saw. And sure as hell, I saw the owner of the emerald eyes and blonde hair sit up beside me. Nope. Not a dream, nightmare or an illusion but in reality and in the flesh. I was cuddling with Usui and I thought his arm as a side-pillow! We slept together, literally. Could it get more embarrassing? Funny how many times it happens whenever we meet. Somebody just kill me now! Right here, right now!

'Good morning to you too.' He said simply as he too rubbed his eyes. Let's put a pause button on my aching, panicked brain for a moment to let my hormones take over and observe how outrageously hot Usui looks in the morning with sunrays brightening his bedraggled blonde hair and the Adonis staring at you with his one bright green eye while rubbing his other. Now, hit play again. OH SHIT! WHAT DID I DO? WHAT DID I DO? I frantically, despite my spinning head, looked around me to confirm my situation and surrounding. Thankfully I was at my apartment and then a sudden horror gripped me. I looked down and-

'Nothing happened. So relax.' Consoled Usui as he came in par with what I was actually getting at. Sure enough we both were wearing last night's attire and my granny-underwear (something I don't want my ahem-ahem to catch me in if we plan on doing the uhm-uhm) was still in its place. Thank the heavens! I shot Usui a dirty look. How could he be so calm about this when I was using every ounce of mental strength to not run away and hide myself in embarrassment in a hole for the rest of my life? Oh I forgot, he is the hot doctor and chef, he must have been in this kind of situation plenty of times and this must be nothing out of normalcy for him, I assume.

'Unlike you, I have never woken up in this kind of a situation.' I replied dryly as I closed my eyes and held my head. The foul taste in my mouth was making me nauseous and at the same time I felt dehydrated. Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed, from every angle possible. I peeked at him when I felt my bed bob about as Usui stood up gingerly and looked around him.

Hormonal mode: even a crumpled up, half un-tucked shirt and trousers coupled with messy bed hair could not mute down his sexiness, rather it made me think it should be the next fashion look for all the men though I doubt how many would be able to carry it off. Why did we have to end up like this?

'Neither have I, but surprisingly, I didn't mind.' He replied, gazing down at me.

I looked at him in surprise as my mind went into buffering mode like in a youtube video as I couldn't think of anything to retort him with and let's not get into my hormonal mode now which have doubled my response time . What the hell did he mean by that? God, my head was aching like hell not to mention how awkward it felt to have him around. I was a model citizen who never got drunk and blacked out to wake up in unknown people's arms. I could not think clearly. I groaned. I wish he would disappear somewhere and leave me to my misery.

'Can I use the bathroom, Misaki?'

'Sure. Go ahead.' I replied as I got up and gingerly made my way to the kitchen. I desperately wanted to just get out of this crumpled dress, stop my headache and rewind whatever happened with Usui. I gently prodded my forehead with my fingertips while silently cursing myself for drinking like it was my last day on earth, I was thoroughly loathing the sour after-taste it left behind. I hadn't felt this hung-over since my college days and that was also the time I swore off drinking unless out of politeness but only in small quantities only. I frowned as I tried to remember the sequence of events from last night. I had that date with Shintani from where I was dramatically rescued by Usui, a complete handsome stranger but had an unusually lively and super-fun night with him. We swapped some trivial facts about each other over a drinking game then we danced and after that I remember us walking hand in hand, high in alcohol and spirit, to support each other, while Usui carried my killer heels, as we took turns to sing our favorite songs at the top of our voice and laughing like maniacs as we scared the hell out of a lot of people in the middle of the night with our choice of song. I faintly remember inviting him inside the apartment and laughing off about some absurd thing and then waking up with his arms around me. I am such a blockhead! Oh god! He must have thought I was easy judging by what happened yesterday. Did we kiss? I touched my lips. Yeah right, as if touching my lips would reveal the last-kiss history. Hangovers truly make you stupid. I could not recall kissing him last night though.

I took out the milk jug from the refrigerator and turned around to spot Usui coming towards the kitchen counter, holding something in his hand.

Hormonal mode: Usui Takumi does not walk, he glides. How could a man move so gracefully? Not to mention, he had back-brushed his hair and now with the hair out of his face, he looked even more gorgeous. His shirt was properly tucked and the still faintly crumpled condition did not seem anything he could not carry off as the latest fashion. The feeling of sleeping in his arms flashed on my mind and I felt my face get hot. I quickly put my hand over my mouth to hide my blush and made it look like I was feeling nauseous from the hangover. Smooth Misaki!

'Here.' To my surprise he handed me a pill, picked out two glasses from the dish-rack, smartly took my milk jug from my hands and poured it in the glasses. I looked suspiciously at the pill and then looked at him, obviously, demanding an explanation.

He smiled as he brushed of the locks hair falling on my face, tucked it beneath my ear and lightly pinched my cheeks, 'Don't worry, it is aspirin, to help you-er-us with the hangover. Now drink up.'

Oh god! He must be thinking that I was easy to be so okay with sleeping with an unknown stranger and maybe he was hoping to do it again, that's why he was being so nice. But, nonetheless, my traitorous face blushed, my cheeks tingled in the spot he touched. Stupid hormones. Stupid night. Stupid drinks. And if he was suffering from hangover like I was, he didn't look like it.

'Let's chug it? What say?' Usui suggested brightly, raising his milk glass, amusement dancing in his eyes.

It has been almost 6 years since I have been involved with anyone romantically and it did not even cross the threshold of the bedroom and bam! 6 years later, romance started from the bedroom and a drunken night. Life sure does have a pervert sense of humor. Now what the heck was I thinking? Romance with this guy was strictly out of the list. I should keep a safe distance from that territory especially with him. He was way too hot for my liking. Now here is my personal theory, the hotter the guy, more the ego and an even higher god complex when it comes to women. The last relationship taught me that very well and I was not a fool to want to experience it twice. The hotter the man, the more they think that they have easy access to women which I sadly have to admit was true for quite a number of women. But, not me.

'No. Never again.' I mumbled more to myself than him, as I popped the pill and washed it down with the milk and started to feel a little better as the foul taste on my mouth started to lessen.

Usui chuckled as he followed suit and replied, 'Ah! That felt good.'

Now was the right moment to say what I have been meaning to say since I found him in my bed as every second was making me super awkward around him.

'Usui.' I started as I came towards him, comprehending how to say what I wanted to say without making a fool of myself and hurting his feeling at the same time.

Usui leaned in and touched my upper-lip with his index finger and quickly glided his hands in one smooth motion around my lips and held his hand out to show me the milk-cream which was on my face. He was mocking me again! I blushed crimson in embarrassment as I wiped my face all over again and turned around to face him, my hands turned into fists as I tried to hold my temper.

'You! Let's forget what happened last night. Don't take me as easy. We shall not cross path again and let us never repeat what we did last night.'

'What did we do last night?' Usui countered, raising an elegant brow. Beneath that indifferent expression on his face, I could sense the seriousness.

Now he caught me there. I did not remember what we did after we entered my apartment. And doesn't he want to forget whatever we did too? In movies, guys could not just wait to get out of the house while the girls cling on to them but they wish for women without attachment issues and now that I am giving him the golden opportunity, he was asking for my reason?

'Um-aah…umm.' I started as I fished for some stuff to accuse him with. Damn it why couldn't I find any? And why does he need so much explanation for? And we had a good time indeed and we didn't do anything hanky-panky we would regret, then, it could have been. Though a very teeny-tiny part of me was disappointed that nothing happened but the other loyal, feminist parts were relieved. What did he want? Does he want something more close than what we had last night like getting physical? I just couldn't make out the type of guy Usui was and that was what making this decision hard for me.

Usui strode towards me as he said, 'We had a drinking game, we danced and then sang on the street, swapped Casablanca lines, you invited me to your place and after that we fell asleep. In all we had a great time, don't you think so?' He stopped an inch away from me, his gaze fixed on my eyes while my face started to turn crimson as my spider senses gave the closeness alert. My consciousness screamed to drop my gaze but something about his eyes made me stand rooted to my spot, he added, 'What's there to forget?'

As frustrating as it was I could not think of an apt reply and let me tell you it was highly unusual for me to be so tongue-tied. Stupid brain hanging up just when I needed it to function the most. I forced myself to drop my gaze but that was an unwise move because it fell on his lips and due to the close proximity, I could make out the blonde stubbles around his lips and my fingers strained against the urge to feel it. I looked up at his eyes again which was watching my actions with a smug expression on his face. Now that smugness pissed me off as if he was very well aware of the effect he had on me. This was something my feminine pride could not take. I pushed him away as I turned my body away from him. God-complexed Adonis!

'Don't stand so close, pervert and if you thought that you could bamboozle me like other women then you are delusional. Last night I was not myself and said and did many stupid things but that was not me. So, it would be better if we don't meet again. ' I retorted, with my back to him. I knew I wouldn't be able to say all these if we were face to face as my face was getting hotter by the second.

Usui caught my arm and turned me around, and held my gaze with those tantalizing eyes of his and surprisingly they looked mad, 'What if I liked that stupid things and don't want to bamboozle you but want to meet you again? ' and he chuckled lightly as he said 'bamboozle'. I rolled my eyes. Yes, I have a very colorful vocabulary, so what?

'What do you want?' I demanded, my mind supplying me with correct words for the first time since morning.

At that, a smile spread across Usui's lips as he replied, 'Now we are getting somewhere.'

I frowned. 'Spit it out Adonis.' And immediately clutched my mouth. DAMN! I called him Adonis on his face! Now his ego would become unbearable and I have to kill him to protect my reputation. It suddenly reminded me of the movie 'Kill Bill' and like the protagonist I would wear a yellow suit and have to duel him till death. Kill Usui. Yeah!

Much to my annoyance, Usui chuckled lightly again and asked, 'How about you date this Adonis?'

That was it. I punched him right in the stomach for throwing that Adonis on my face. No one, I repeat, no one gets away with mocking me to this degree. Usui doubled over for a few seconds as if taken by surprise but straightened up and smirked. God! Is he an alien? How could he recover so fast? I hit him pretty hard even by my standard.

'A feisty one, I like.' He said as came closer, grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him, making me unable to punch and at the same time secretly relishing the feel of his solid chest beneath my arms.

I wriggled for a while and then I closed my eyes as I realized I could not escape from his iron grip, 'Let me go, you big pervert. I am not like one of your regular wom-'

And just at that precise moment, the main door opened wide to reveal the two people I least wanted to witness, rather I never wanted anyone to witness this, Sakura and Aoi. My eyes widened like saucers as I could just imagine what they could be thinking at the site of me in Usui's arms. Oh holy god of all wrong-timings. Mother earth, I now get why you didn't swallow me up earlier, you must had been waiting for this instant to pass. So now, please swallow me up! Please please. I forgot Sakura had a spare key to my apartment or did i forget to lock last night?

Both of the newcomers were taken aback by the sight they saw then in a second Sakura squeaked in delight while Aoi blushed horribly and looked away. Alas, no one heard my protest. I quickly wriggled out of Usui's loosened arms as he, too, was surprised by their sudden appearance. Before I could find the words to explain our position, Sakura bounced (literally like she had springs on her sandals) up and extended her hand towards Usui with a wide smile, 'Hello, I am Sakura, Misaki's best friend and that is Aoi. You must be Shintani.'

Sakura had not seen either Shintani or Usui before, hence the confusion. I sneaked a glance at Usui to see how he took it but his expression was unreadable. He took her hand and shaked it manfully and did the same with Aoi while I stood dumbstruck, thoroughly ignored and shoved in the background like a mere spectator.

'Good morning. I am Usui T-'

'YOU ARE THAT USUI! OH MY GOD! I CANT BELIEVE IT!' screamed the over-enthusiastic Sakura, I almost went deaf. Mother earth, please open up and swallow me up now? Wasn't this the most embarrassing thing in the history of womankind? I was so trying to downplay this Adonis so that we don't date but Sakura's revelation made him believe otherwise. Usui looked surprised as he ran his hand through his hair, he looked so gorgeous. Stupid hormones stop checking him out. Wait, was it me or did Usui's ears went red?

'Oh, Misaki talked about me?' asked Usui, snidely, giving me a sideways glance and I pointedly looked away.

'Yes' gushed Sakura, totally ignoring my shaking head and silent mime threats of being killed, 'She told me how you treated her after that heroic antic of hers. I never knew you are this handsome!' Thank you so much Sakura for giving him a helium overdose of ego. But thank god, I didn't tell her that dessert incident and obviously, I was never sharing last night's incident, you never know what she would make of it! I looked at Aoi and saw him looking back at me suspiciously. I silently gestured him to convey it was not how it looked. He grinned mischievously.

Aoi turned his gaze at Usui,'So? Did you guys sleep together last night?' He asked innocently as if sleeping together was a normal occurrence for him like having your breakfast.

If I was an anime character, I would have dropped on the floor. This was just not happening. I mentally cursed Aoi and the deep shit he was dragging me into. Before Usui could answer it with any of his pervert remarks, I interjected, 'No. Not really!'

'What do you mean by not really?' countered Aoi, looking at me suspiciously. Usui also looked at me with an amused grin tugging at his lips.

'We-just-umm-we just-umm...' I fumbled, unable to say what really happened. It was nothing to be embarrassed of, really, but when everyone's eyes were on you, it makes me feel like a criminal brought before the judge. Too much pressure. Before I could fumble some more, I felt a warm hand on my back as Usui pulled me closer to him and answered suggestively,'No, not that together .'

I stared at Usui, very well aware of the treacherous blush creeping into my face, what the hell was he saying? And how dare he pull me closer like that in front of my friends? I took a peek at Aoi and Sakura at the corner of my eye and sure as hell they looked unconvinced by his answer and even more by that gesture. Usui was evil! He said it but meant otherwise. Oh! My blood was boiling! I couldn't lose to him. I tried to wriggle out of his grip but he held on.

Unperturbed, Usui continued, 'So, Aoi and Sakura, do you think we should have slept tog-'

I clamped my hand on his mouth and interjected, 'Don't listen to this pervert.'

Sakura bounced up happily as she said, 'You both should start dating you know. Your chemistry is so good.'

I gave her a death glare and said sweetly, 'Usui is getting late for his work.' and with that lame excuse, I took Usui by the hand and pulled him towards the door. I half-wondered why was he not protesting but as we reached the threshold he gripped my arm gently and asked quietly, 'Shall i see you tonight?' His tone, serious.

As much as my hormones screamed for him, i knew that seeing him again would be nothing but bad news for me. Too much ego clashes and didn't you just see how he pisses me off? Surely, us dating was a bad idea, no brainer there. Shame though.

'I never make plans that far ahead.' I replied him with a Casablanca, very classy of me, don't you think?

Usui tried to say something but stopped as his brows knitted in a grimace. And he must have thought that he could get just anything by his looks and charms!

'See you around, Ayuzawa.' He said and without waiting for my reply, turned around and walked away.I mentally did the hula dance in celebration over my victory but it was marred with guilt. Stupid conscience.

I turned around and saw both Sakura and Aoi towering over me.

'Spill the beans.' they said in unison.

* * *

Not one of my best chapter though. You know what to do: **REVIEW! **

I decided not to 'M' rate it, but feel free to tell me if i cross any line.

I was suffering from lack of motivation due to the low review count for my last chapter. Please review to motivate me! :)

Tight hugs to **aqua girl, sangeeta, WishingUsuiWasReal, Panthera **(3 hugs for you!)**, Yousei1998** and a guest for the supporting reviews.

To the **guest** who asked me _if i will like_ _a hollywood-made modern version of casablanca_: i am not sure. I would like hollywood to make something inspired by casablanca but not a remake. it is quite perfect as it is. just my opinion.

Enjoy the WC final! Nail-biting game today!


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